Primary and secondary school students are often required to construct displays for science fairs and the like. Often, these displays are constructed from poster board or similar material. Unfortunately, poster board is a very flexible material and can collapse under the weight of the display. To solve this problem, some type of support can be built to hold the poster board. The result is an awkward and hard to transport display.
In an effort to overcome these disadvantages, various modifications have been suggested. One approach is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,794,712 and 5,293,705, both entitled "Portable Display Device," issued on Jan. 3, 1989 and Mar. 15, 1994 to Donald L. Wood. Wood discloses a display board having a center panel and a pair of side panels hingedly attached to the center panel. The side panels are designed to fold in at an angle from the open position, which allows for viewing of the displayed material and support of the display board.
The drawback of this approach is that the sides do not always stay in the proper position. Instead, the sides have a tendency to fold back into their closed position, causing the display board to fall over, potentially destroying the display. One solution to this problem has been to use one or more objects to hold the panels in position. This approach is unsatisfactory because it detracts from the visual appearance of the display. Additionally, even though the sides are able to fold, the display board does not fold into an easily transportable configuration.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a portable display board that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.